Up, up and away! Tech trading above bubble highs

Stocks like Microsoft and Cisco may sound old school these days compared with Google and Facebook, but some of the old time major tech plays are trading at levels not seen since the dot com bubble.

Nearly one-fifth of the S&P 500's value comes via the technology sector. That means investors put a lot of emphasis on these stocks, especially during earnings season. About 50 companies in the tech sector have been around since the dot com bubble; 23 of them are now worth more than they were in early March of 2000.

Apple is one poster child for this tech turnaround. The stock was worth between $4 and $5 in March of 2000. Today, it's closing in on $100 after transforming itself from a maker of niche market personal computers to a consumer-focused tech behemoth specializing in just about everything computing and mobile related.

Tech since the bubble

Ticker

S&P 500 Member

Last

Close on 3/10/2000

%Chg from Tech Bubble High

FLIR

FLIR Systems, Inc.

33.95

1.23

2667

AAPL

Apple Inc.

94.65

4.49

2007

CTSH

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp Class A

49.58

2.56

1837

WDC

Western Digital Corporation

99.48

5.19

1818

APH

Amphenol Corporation Class A

96.34

10.77

795

FISV

Fiserv, Inc.

62.86

11.38

454

ADSK

Autodesk, Inc.

56.54

13.72

312

HRS

Harris Corporation

74.38

18.31

306

ADBE

Adobe Systems Incorporated

72.24

20.81

247

INTU

Intuit Inc.

81.67

29.22

179

SYMC

Symantec Corporation

23.36

10.1

131

EBAY

eBay Inc.

51.88

24.16

115

TSS

Total System Services, Inc.

31.7

15.88

99

FFIV

F5 Networks, Inc.

109.35

57.88

89

NVDA

NVIDIA Corporation

18.68

9.83

89

ADP

Automatic Data Processing, Inc.

81.14

44.13

84

IBM

International Business Machines Corporation

192.04

105.25

82

EA

Electronic Arts Inc.

38.6

23.2

66

MCHP

Microchip Technology Incorporated

48.65

30.75

58

SNDK

SanDisk Corporation

93.7

62.91

49

LRCX

Lam Research Corporation

72.12

54.15

33

PAYX

Paychex, Inc.

42.02

33.92

24

QCOM

QUALCOMM Incorporated

79.67

68.06

17

Source: CNBC Analytics

Apple reported third-quarter earnings of $1.28 per share on $37.4 billion in revenue, versus estimates of $1.23 a share on $37.9 billion in revenue. Despite top-line growth slightly below estimates, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC he "couldn't be happier." Analysts think Apple's run can continue with an average price target of $103, or 9 percent upside from current levels, according to FactSet. Of course, Apple's future performance will be largely contingent on how the highly anticipated iPhone 6 and smart watch release will go.

The biggest gainer in the S&P Tech sector during that time frame is FLIR Systems, up an astounding 2,643 percent from its bubble price of $1.23. Many analysts continue to be bullish on the thermal imaging company, estimating a 13 percent upside in the stock.

Another stock that has eclipsed its bubble peak is SanDisk, up 48 percent since March 2000. The $23 billion data storage company makes products such as removable memory cards for digital cameras and flash memory products for mobile devices. SanDisk shares have been on a tear up 33 percent so far this year.

Blue chip IBM is also trading above its price during the dot com bubble. IBM has been an underperformer over the past year, down a little more than 1 percent, but longer-term investors can still say the company is 82 percent better than in March 2000. The company's transition from hardware into computer services has helped fuel some of those gains.

Electronic Arts is another big gainer, also reporting after the bell today. Back at the height of the dot com boom, it was a $23 stock. It was trading Tuesday at $38. The boom in traditional video games and new consoles has powered the stock. But now, questions remain about whether a huge shift to mobile devices will leave the stock behind. Analysts have a target price just about where shares are traded now.

Solid earnings might tip a few other stocks past their trading prices from the bubble. Microsoft, which reported fourth-quarter revenue above analyst expectations, is only 11 percent off its price in March 2000. Microsoft's fourth-quarter revenue came in at $23.3 billion, versus an estimated $20 billion, but profit fell by 7 percent, mostly due to the costs of its struggling Nokia business.

Oracle is even closer to beating its bubble price, currently down about 2 percent from its price of $40 during the dot com bubble. Oracle reported fourth-quarter earnings below analyst estimates, deepening concerns over its cloud business, but the stock is still up around 5 percent so far this year.

Still, the S&P 500 Tech sector overall has yet to recover from the bubble. S&P Tech is down roughly 28 percent from its price on March 10, 2000. Telecom is the only other sector that has failed to surpass its bubble price. It is still down almost 49 percent from its highs in March 2000.